The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is improving the processes and availability of information made available to the public during an AMBER Alert activation.

In April of 2021, the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) cell phone notifications started including a URL link to directly access the AMBER Alert bulletin, or a Blue Alert bulletin.

The CBI will perform a test of the system at 11:00 am on May 22, 2024. The alert test feature is disabled by default on all phones; however, those who have enabled the test alerts on their device will receive this notification. Members of the public who notice the test alert on Wednesday May 22nd at 11:00 am should not be alarmed and understand no action needs to be taken.

“One of the challenges of the WEA system is that it only provides for a maximum of 360 characters in the cell phone message, which dramatically limits the amount of information the CBI can offer in these time-sensitive situations,” said CBI Director Chris Schaefer. “The URL redirect to a site will further enhance our ability to share critical and helpful information in a timely manner.”

The CBI Alert team is going away from using the X (Twitter) CBI Alerts page as the landing spot for the link that is included in WEA messages. AMBER and Blue alerts will still be posted to X (Twitter) but for further public viewability and ease, the link will now direct the public to https://sites.google.com/state.co.us/cbialerts/active-amber-alert

The media will continue to receive alerts through the existing framework (email and text). The URL redirect is only available for AMBER and Blue alerts currently. All other CBI alerts (Senior, Endangered Missing, Medina, Developmental Disabilities, Missing Indigenous Persons) will continue to be sent through the existing email and text system and posted to the CBI’s social media sites on Facebook and X.

This test will be taking place just three days before National Missing Children’s Day on May 25, 2024.

As a reminder, the following criteria must be met prior to the activation of an AMBER Alert:

  1. The abducted child must be 17 years of age or younger,
  2. The abducted child must be in immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death,
  3. There must be enough descriptive information available to believe a broadcast will assist or aid in the recovery,
  4. The activation must be requested by a local law enforcement agency or AMBER Designee from another state.